Is University Worth It? Parents and carers need information to make the best choices.

Is University Worth It?

Parents and students need information to make the best choices.

As this year’s UCAS deadline approaches, many students find themselves questioning whether university is the right route for them. Parents and carers, on the other hand, are largely of the opinion that a university education is obviously worthwhile.

Anyone who grew up in the 1970s to approximately 1999 would have been raised with the idea that a university degree was a golden ticket to future financial stability. If you wanted a good job, a career, a mortgage, and an overseas holiday every year, then going to university was the first step. In fact, a famous quote is often attributed to the 1980s Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher: “A man who, beyond the age of 26, finds himself on a bus can count himself as a failure.” There is no evidence that she ever said this. Instead, the sentiment is widely believed to have been coined by the poet Brian Howard and popularized by Loelia Lindsay, the Duchess of Westminster, who wrote in her memoirs: “Anybody seen in a bus over the age of 30 has been a failure in life.” It mistakenly became attached to Thatcher’s legacy as a commentary on her individualistic economic philosophies, and she did say “Universities provide the knowledge and skills required for economic success.” This was understood to mean that if you didn’t go to university, you would fail. It didn’t matter where the quote originated - the sentiment was instilled in an entire generation.

However, this no longer reflects the world we live in. A university degree in and of itself no longer ensures a job for life or financial security. Here in the 2020s, it’s much more common for two parents to both have degrees and full-time jobs and still find that financial security eludes them. This is the message that today’s school leavers hear, and it’s vastly different from those their parents grew up with.

So, let’s set aside the assumption that university is the natural, or even the best, route after high school and instead look at what the studies say. In order to decide whether university is “worth it,” it is best to consider what “worth it” means to you.

Debt

Firstly, the cost of going to university can seem like a big commitment. However, studies show that because of the way a loan is repaid in instalments to Student Finance, the impact of repayment is negligible. Money is taken from monthly pay cheques when the individual earns over £25,000 per year. Most graduates find that their student loan debt is just not a problem. Also, not everyone ends up paying it back: under the current Plan 5 rules, the debt is cancelled after 40 years[1].

However, tuition fees are not the only debt that many students face. The Guardian newspaper undertook a detailed investigation into the debts associated with the cost of living and found that many students are leaving university with overdraft and credit card debts they struggle to pay[2]. But I would argue that this is nothing new. Having a part-time job to help pay your way while at university, and spending the summer and winter holidays working to save money, was commonplace when I went to university, and a few of the people I was there with put living costs onto credit cards instead of working on a checkout, only to regret it later.

My conclusion is that while tuition fees should not put you off going to university, you should have a solid plan for how you will pay to live. Rent and food are expensive. This is a reality for anyone who is flying the nest for the first time; therefore, learning to manage income and expenses is inevitable whether you choose university or not.

Lifelong Benefits

There are many countries all over the world for whom a good education is a key to social mobility (India, Korea, China - the list goes on), but that is not universally true for the UK, especially post-Brexit when the cost of living has risen and our universities no longer receive funding from the EU or from enrolment by international students, who cannot easily study here[3].

The group here in the UK who achieve the most social mobility as a result of a university education are those who received Free School Meals. These students are four times more likely to have higher lifetime earnings compared to their peers who do not pursue higher education[4]. Despite this, for children of low-income families who do not qualify for FSM, having a degree will not guarantee a white-collar job, entry into a career whose job title your Nan will recognise, and a secure middle-class life[5]. But not having a degree will almost certainly close these doors to you.

The best way to make your degree work for you in the future is to choose your university wisely now, at the UCAS stage[6]. A study from the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows that your choice of university matters - with students who attended one of the 24 Russell Group universities earning 15% more than those who did not[7]. So, while these places are highly sought after, the studies show that they are worth pursuing.

The main discussion point I recommend all parents, carers, and students take away from this is to choose wisely. You might not know the exact career you want to go into, but being as specific as you can is the way to get the best results. Treat your university application the same way as you would a vocational qualification. Students who go to college after GCSEs choose courses such as carpentry, plumbing, hair and beauty, childcare, etc. Approach university the same way. Consider the career you would best enjoy, research the best university for that career, and let that guide your choice. There is room to change your decision as you go through university, especially in the first year, but doing a degree just because you like a subject and you see university as the next step after A levels is not the smartest way to approach the application process. As with so much in life, the best outcomes come as a result of clear planning.

Mental Health

Since the pandemic, there has been a rise in students who struggle with anxiety and depression - two years at home while a deadly virus lurks outside will do that to a child. Education providers have worked to meet this challenge by understanding and supporting our young people in schools and colleges.

However, studies from King’s College London and the UK Parliament show that the prevalence of mental health issues in university students is five times higher than in 2010/11[8]. The mental health charity Student Minds shows that 57% of respondents to their study reported a diagnosed mental health condition. In addition, many mental health issues arise for the first time at university[9]. A young person who is struggling to meet deadlines and sit exams at A level, where there is pastoral support on hand, might really suffer in a university setting, where they are expected to attend classes and meet deadlines with little or no encouragement or reminders. While support does exist for these students, it is closer to what they would find once they leave education and go into the workforce than it is to the level of support one gets in a school.

In essence, university can be a challenging time. My advice to students with pre-existing mental health issues is to put in place the best support plan possible. Identify what you might need and research what support there is to help you. There are some lovely smaller universities that can provide better support, so choose wisely and plan ahead[10].

Is It 'Worth It'?

The answer to this is “it depends on the student.” Yes, university is fun; yes, it will give you specialist knowledge of your subject; yes, it will change your life in ways you can’t imagine. But the best way to approach the decision is to remember that it is a choice and be clear about what outcome you want to achieve. Plan how you will support yourself financially. Be clear about the route you want to take and choose your course wisely, as you would a vocational qualification. Choose your university wisely. Plan for the worst days, especially if you have a mental health condition that suggests future-you will need support to get through them.

While many parents and carers see university as the natural progression from A level and are finding they are getting pushback from their teenage offspring, the best way to find common ground and come up with the best option is to challenge your assumptions about university - it is not a golden ticket to lifelong stability, nor is it a life sentence of debt. Things have changed, and the best way to be prepared and make good choices is to do your homework.

Further Reading

https://theaccessproject.org.uk/2026/06/02/is-university-worth-it-higher-education-and-social-mobility/

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0309877X.2021.1933400

https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/108769/1/impactofsocialsciences_2021_01_21_whats_the_purpose_of_university.pdf

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8593/

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/student-mental-health-problems-have-almost-tripled-study-finds

Chapter 11: Graduate migration in the UK: an exploration of gender dynamics and employment patterns in: Graduate Migration and Regional Development

[1] Government facts and figures about student loan repayments: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/student-loan-forecasts-for-england/2024-25

Parliamentary research briefing regarding student debt: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn01079/

[2] https://www.theguardian.com/education/2025/oct/17/students-owe-nearly-500m-hidden-debts-uk-universities-figures

[3] There are many studies on the impact of Brexit on higher education, and they are universally depressing. This one shows a wide range of results from funding to student migration: ERIC - ED612259 - EU Exit: Estimating the Impact on UK Higher Education. Research Report, UK Department for Education, 2021-Feb

[4] Universities and Social Mobility - The Sutton Trust

[5] ‘Forgotten’ White working-class pupils let down by decades of neglect, MPs say - Committees - UK Parliament

[6] Complete University Guide - University Rankings, Guides and Courses

[7] The wider impacts of attending university | Institute for Fiscal Studies

[8] Student mental health in England: Statistics, policy, and guidance - House of Commons Library

[9] Student mental health problems have almost tripled, study finds | King’s College London

[10] Student mental health at university